Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 4, 2022
Governor Hochul says the deal for the new Bills stadium may be announced later this month. Negotiations are still ongoing. On Friday, Governor Hochul was in Buffalo and she says an agreement for a new stadium will be done in time for this year’s budget. The budget is due in just a few weeks on April 1. According to the governor, the new stadium is coming and will be built in Orchard Park. She didn’t specify whether there will be a dome or not. A new stadium will be around $1.4 billion but the amount taxpayers will be on the hook for has not been released.
Ray Tourt, Superintendent of Maintenance for the City of Batavia, retired Friday after being with the city for 23 years. Tourt served as the resident engineer and project administrator for the $28M reconstruction of NY Route 5 Main Street Project, multiple road and sidewalk construction projects, snow plowing and operations, as well as the City’s automotive repair facility. He is being replaced by Scott Allen who has been with the City for 23 years as well. Allen worked in the sewer department, street cleaning, and moved up to Mechanic supervisor.
With this and next weekend being free snowmobile weekends in New York, State and local police warn snowmobilers to drive safely especially with a rash of snowmobiling incidents and several deaths in recent weeks. Law enforcement patrols are being increased these weekends looking for people driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. If a rider is convicted they can be suspended from snowmobiling for over a year and face possible fines and jail time.
The City of Rochester is trying to lure video game production companies to setup in the city. On Friday, New York State Sen. Jeremy Cooney and community partners announced support for Empire State Digital Gaming Media Production Credit. He says the goal is to keep students and professionals like those at Rochester Institute of Technology in the region. If the bill passes, it will cover 25 percent of the production costs of a digital gaming media production and 10 extra percent if it’s located upstate. The available funding could be as much as $50 million a year.
For the first time in 3 years Rochester is gearing up for a St Patrick’s day Parade. The parade was suspended for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first big event affected by COVID, canceled just days before it was to be held in 2020. The parade kicks off Rochester’s festival season, Mayor Malik Evans said. Whether it’s sunny or snowing, it typically draws tens of thousands of spectators. The parade begins at 12:30 p.m. Saturday the 12th at East Avenue and Alexander Street, makes its way to the Liberty Pole, and proceeds west down Main Street all the way to Fitzhugh.
